The New Civic Type R Is Actually Super Impressive Around The Track

Lets not beat around the bush, Honda has been killing it lately. It’s all over the news– the Civic named the “Best Compact Car of 2017″ by Cars.com, the release of the new Type R, and the overall company named the best value brand for the third consecutive year by Kelly Blue Book.

They have some pretty impressive accomplishments under their belt, if you ask us, but that’s not the end of the great news coming from Honda.

The Civic Type R’s Nürburgring lap time was just released to the public. Its pretty dang good– grabbing Honda yet another impressive title, the creator of the world’s fastest front-wheel-drive production car.

On April 3, less than two months before the vehicle’s United States debut, it set a new benchmark lap time at the legendary German track. As stated in the press release, the new time “presents an improvement of nearly 7 seconds compared to the previous-generation (European market) Type R, and over 3 seconds faster than the previous FWD record,” lapping the 12.9-mile Nordschleife (north loop) in only 7 minutes 43.80 seconds.

The 306-horsepower VTEC turbo engine makes the new Type R the most powerful Honda ever sold in the States. When combined with the new lowered gear ratios, innovative aerodynamics, and the stiff, rigid body it makes for quite the performer on the track.

The exact vehicle that achieved the lap time was representative of production specifications– with only a roll cage added for safety and street legal, performance tires. The added weight of the cage was offset with the removal of the audio system and rear seating.

This grand finale of the Civic family is said to start arriving at dealers in the States before the end of the season.